Étienne Béchard

ChoreographerFrance

Étienne Béchard was 10 years old when he discovered dance. After one year of dancing, he was given a bursary and began more diligent training under Alexandre Clément and Jean-Gérald Dorseuil. At 16 years of age, he joined the Rudra Béjart School, and two years later joined the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. There, he acquired the discipline and rigour that would never leave him. Under the encouraging eye of Maurice Béjart (who gave him many leading roles), he developed his talent as a dancer and choreographer. In 2009, he created the duet Passager Clandestin. It became clear that choreographic creation was his calling, and in 2010 he left the Béjart Ballet Lausanne to fully devote himself to his vocation.

Following his desire for emancipation, Béchard moved to Brussels in 2010 to form his own company, Opinion Public. Since then, his works (Opinion Public, Apart/heid, Obsolescence, Bob’Art, Post Anima and Mr. Follower) have taken the neuroses of our age as raw material, bearing witness to the issues of our time with humour and poetry. In 2016, he was invited to the Ballet of the Opéra national du Rhin, under the direction of Ivan Cavallari, for a first experience with a large company of 30 dancers for the creation of the performance Cupidon s'en fout. In 2017, he is presenting Post Anima again, this time with the 15 dancers of the Konzert Theater Bern, under the direction of Estefania Miranda.